from a friend.....

Well. I spent the Xmas holidays in Boston... my favourite City and visited the Old North Church since someone had mentioned that a pew was dedicated to the Baymen of Belize. Well I have to say it is there and the plaque reads:

"The Bay Pew. This Pew for use of the Gentlemen of the Bay of Honduras 1727 ".

At that time, the area of Belize was known simply as the Bay of Honduras so I presume they meant the Baymen of British Honduras. I took some pictures of the plaque and the pew itself so if interested I can forward them.

According to the historian the pew is the only one decorated as many of them would have been in the 1700s to 1800s. It was called the "Bay Pew" because it was given as a gift of thanks to a group of wealthy shipping merchants from the Bay of Honduras who helped fund the construction of the Church's steeple in 1740.... the same steeple of enduring fame where, on the night of April 18, 1775, two lanterns were hung as a signal to the Patriots keeping watch in Charlstown that the British troops were leaving Boston to seize rebel stores of munitions in Lexington and Concord by sea and not by land. This event ignited the American Revolution. I think that the steeple has been rebuilt since it was destroyed by a hurricane in the early part of the nineteenth century. BTW the original donation box is still in use. It has an inscription of C.C. 1724 for Christ Church as it was known around Boston.